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Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has set his sights on Manchester United pair Darron Gibson and Wes Brown in a €13m double deal.

Republic of Ireland international, Gibson, has been nothing more than a fringe played at Old Trafford this season and will never cut it amongst the highest calibre midfielders in the Premier League and a switch to the Stadium of Light looks timely.

The 23-year-old will not be on show for Bruce this Saturday in Ireland's Euro 2012 qualifier in Skopje but he's believed to have seen enough of his limited talent to make a bid that could involve Wes Brown also joining the Cats.

Even without the likely exit of Jordan Henderson to Liverpool - who will fetch up to €20m - Bruce has a nice kitty to dip into after the €25m sale of Darren Bent in January.

Bruce reckons Gibson to be the ideal replacement for Henderson if that deal is to come to pass and the experience of Bron in defence a huge boost to next season's aspirations.

This recent screamer (Ireland v Wales, Nation's Cup) may have been enough to make up Bruce's mind on Gibson: